Lords of Dogtown (2005)

The film follows the surf and skateboarding trends that originated in Venice, California during the 1970's.

Director:

Catherine Hardwicke

Writer:

Stacy Peralta

Stars:

Heath Ledger, Emile Hirsch, Victor Rasuk

1 win & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Robinson	...	Stacy
Emile Hirsch	...	Jay
Rebecca De Mornay	...	Philaine
William Mapother	...	Donnie
Julio Oscar Mechoso	...	Mr. Alva
Victor Rasuk	...	Tony
Nikki Reed	...	Kathy Alva
Heath Ledger	...	Skip
Vincent Laresca	...	Chino
Brian Zarate	...	Montoya
Pablo Schreiber	...	Stecyk
Elden Henson	...	Billy Z
Michael Angarano	...	Sid
Mitch Hedberg	...	Urethane Wheels Guy
Benjamin Nurick	...	Browser

Storyline

A fictionalized take on the group of brilliant young skateboarders raised in the mean streets of Dogtown in Santa Monica, California. The Z-Boys, as they come to be known, perfect their craft in the empty swimming pools of unsuspecting suburban homeowners, pioneering a thrilling new sport and eventually moving into legend.

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Plot Keywords:

skateboarder | surf | swimming pool | skateboarding | 1970s | 

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Taglines:

They never thought they'd be famous, but they always thought they'd be friends.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for drug and alcohol content, sexuality, violence, language and reckless behavior - all involving teens

Details

Official Sites:

Columbia Tristar [France] Official site [Brazil]

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

3 June 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dogtown Boys

Filming Locations:

Imperial Beach, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$5,623,373 (USA) (3 June 2005)

Gross:

$122,532 (Australia) (26 August 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Art Linson Productions, Indelible Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Many parts of the dilapidated pier set (e.g. the big dipper) were added using CGI to keep costs down. However, the derelict ferris wheel was real and had been purchased on eBay for a few thousand dollars.

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Goofs

When a fight breaks out in a nightclub, one of the band members can be seen wearing a Black Flag shirt. This scene occurs in either 1976 or 1977, but Black Flag did not actually take the name Black Flag until 27 January 1979 (from 1976-1978 the band's name was Panic). Additionally, the song that is playing is a cover of the song Nervous Breakdown by Black Flag, which was not released until 1978.

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Quotes

Kathy Alva: Should my weight be on my back foot?
Stacy: Yeah, well, that's how I do it. But it might be different, though, the whole center-of-gravity thing for girls.

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Connections

Version of Dogtown and Z-Boys (2001)

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Soundtracks

Super Stupid
Written by George Clinton (as George Clinton Jr.), William Nelson, Lucious Ross and Edward Earl Hazel
Performed by Funkadelic
Courtesy of Westbound Records

User Reviews

A Great, Under Rated Movie

If you listen to a lot of the comments on this site you will probably never want to see this movie and that would be a shame because it is probably one of the best movies of the last couple of years. The thing I like most about this movie is that it transports you back to that glorious time in 70's Venice and that's what a good movie does. Granted, if I were to dig deeper into the facts of the Zephyr team I probably wouldn't like the movie as much because it wouldn't be "factual." What I have come to find out is that most movies that are based on a true story always distort the facts but that is irrelevant. This is still a movie, not a documentary. The purpose here is to entertain. I remember Roger Ebert gave "JFK" a great review and Walter Konkrite ripped him for it saying the events depicted were not fact based. Ebert responded by saying that the movie captured the nation's collective fears, paranoia, and cynicism about the government since the assassination and that's what a movie is supposed to do. I love the use of music in this movie and how the character's all have to come to grips in their own ways with their new found stardom. The ending is also very emotional and almost poetic. Overall, a fun, nostalgic glimpse into some of the skater's lives and what they did for their sport.